Knife sheath



H. HARTWELL KNIFE SHEATH Oct. 30, 1945.

Filed Dec. 14, 1944 m m 2% JW m W H M Patented Oct. 30, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE KNIFE SHEATH Henry Hartwell, Inkster, Mich.

Application December 14, 1944, Serial No. 568,151

4 Claims.

The purpose of my improvement is to provide a sheath for hunting knives, said sheath having certain advantages over conventional sheaths now in use. One of said advantages consists in having the sheath mounted pivotally on its supporting member. This makes it possible, when the sheath is suspended from a belt around the body of a person, to withdraw the knife encased in said sheath, quickly, in one motion, while ordinarily it is necessary first to draw out the knife upwardly before it can be in a position to be employed for any purpose.

Another advantage consists in having the knife which is encased in the sheath, held securely in place by means of a resilient clamp, the clamp being of a kind that does not interfere with the quick withdrawal of the knife from the sheath, when this is desirable.

Both these advantages are due to the respective features of construction, already mentioned, which features, in combination make the sheath more useful and more practical. I wish to point out that the incorporation of said features in my sheath, does not make it more cumbersome, and does not materially increase the cost of its production. I also wish :to point out that the sheath of my construction is not restricted in use for hunting knives, but that it may be used for many types of blades, equipped with handles, such as ice picks, and also for small firing arms, such as revolvers, which at times, have to be drawn out quickly in one motion, but which have to be held safely in position against accidental displacement or loss.

I shall now describe my improved sheath with reference to the accompanying drawing in which,

Fig. 1 is a side View of my sheath with a knife therein, and of a fragment of a belt from which the sheath is suspended;

2 is an edge view of my sheath with a knife therein;

Fig. 3 is a back side View of my sheath, reduced in size;

Fig. 4 is a reduced side view of my sheath with a knife therein, in a position for withdrawal of the knife;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of clamp, being a part of my sheath.

Similar numerals refer to similar throughout the several views.

The sheath is intended to be suspended from a belt III, which is shown in fragment in Fig. 1, and which is to encircle the body of the person wearing it. In order that the sheath may be suspended from said belt, it is equipped with a loop parts II, made from a band of suitable material, such as leather, doubled on itself and held together by stitching I4 and by a bolt I5. Pivotally connected to said loop by means of the same bolt I5 is the case or the sheath proper I2, made of suitable material, preferably of one piece of leather, bent double and sewn together along the open edges with exception of the top where an open mouth is left for admission of the object to be encased in the sheath. A small spacer I3, which may also be made of leather, is interposed between the loop II and the case I2 to keep them somewhat apart. Directly above the mouth, that is, above the open end of the case, a clamp I8, open at one end, is mounted on loop I I by means of a bolt I9. The clamp is made of a resilient metal band, forming an elongated loop, its one side 20 abutting the surface of loop II, and the opposite somewhat narrower side, ZI, being in a yieldab-le position and terminating in a short hair pin turn 22 flaring outwardly but constricting the open end of the loop. The loop of the clamp is large enough to encircle handle I! of the knife encased in sheath proper I2. However the open end of the clamp has to be spread apart to permit passage of handle I'l between side 20 of the clamp and its hair pin turn 22. This spreading is done automatically by the handle, when the latter, grasped by hand, is forced into the open end of the clamp as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, wherein the handle 23 is just in the process of being forced through the open end of said clamp. The position of the case I2, pivotally aflixed to loop I I, is at that instance, shown in dotted lines I6. In Fig. 4, the handle I! is shown in a position when is has come out of the clamp so that the knife of which the handle is a part, may be withdrawn from case I2. Even when the knife is in case I2, the latter may be swung back to normal position shown in solid lines in Fig. 1 from position shown in Fig. 4, as the handle may be forced into the open end of the clamp, spreading it apart to reach the space within the loop formed by said clamp as above indicated.

It will be understood that some changes may be made in the construction of my sheath Without at all departing from the inventive principle disclosed herein. What I therefore, wish to claim is as follows:

1. A sheath comprising a suspension member, a knife case open at top and pivotally affixed to the face of the suspension member, and a clamp affixed to said face of the suspension member above the open top of the case, the clamp being mounted in its place transversely and being open at one end.

to offer a constricted passage for the handle of a knife to be held in the case.

2. A knife sheath of the kind described, comprising, a flat suspension member, a clamp of resilient material mounted on the surface of said. member, the clamp having a constricted open end, and a case for knife, open at top and pivto the face of the suspension member below said clamp, the clamp being of a size to accommodate within the handle of the knife encased in the sheath, the constricted open end of the clamp being adapted to be spread apart by the handle on its being forced manually through said open end.

t. A sheath of the kind described, comprising, a suspension member, an oblong sheath proper, pivotally afiixed at its top to the suspension member, and a clamp transversely mounted on said suspension member above the top of the sheath proper, the clamp being made in the form of a loop having a yieldingly constricted end and being large enough to encircle the handle of the object held in the sheath proper.

HENRY I-LARTWELL. 

